Overall, Time Warner earned $725 million, or 62 cents per share, for the period ended March 31. That's better than its profit of $660 million, or 55 cents, a year ago.

Removing one-time items, profit was 61 cents per share.

Revenue climbed 5 percent to $6.32 billion from $6 billion, the biggest increase in almost two years.

"The advertising recovery benefited both Turner and Time Inc., while the continuing popularity of The Blind Side and Sherlock Holmes helped lift Warner Bros.' home video sales," Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said in a statement.

The performance surpassed the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who forecast a smaller profit of 48 cents per share on revenue of $6.25 billion. These estimates generally take out one-time items.

Nonetheless, its shares fell 27 cents to $32.40 in morning trading as the broader market fell on European debt worries.

In the network division, which houses HBO and Turner Broadcasting, revenue rose 9 percent on a 7 percent increase in subscription revenue, a 9 percent rise in ad revenue and a 22 percent increase in content revenue.